ARTICLES ABOUT TOY SOLDIERS BY DATE - PAGE 5

Holy hitpower! Music from the smash movie "Batman" really exploded on the charts this week, with Prince's soundtrack album already collecting two No. 1 titles. On the main LP list, "Batman" moved all the way up from No. 7 to become champ in just its third chart week. That ended the seven-week reign of Fine Young Cannibals` "The Raw & the Cooked" (now No. 2) and also gave Prince his first No. 1 album since "Around the World in a Day" in 1985. And on the compact disc list, "Batman" jumped up from No. 3 to gain the No. 1 spot, also in just three chart weeks.

Chalk up a great week for the British trio Fine Young Cannibals, who, thanks to the staying power of their "The Raw & the Cooked" LP, have scored a coveted chart double-having the nation's No. 1 album and single in the same week. The song that did it for them is "Good Thing," which moved up from No. 2 to end the one-week reign of Milli Vanilli's "Baby Don`t Forget My Number" (now No. 2) and also to become their second straight No. 1 single. But a double wasn`t possible back in April, when the Cannibals` "She Drives Me Crazy" spent one week in the top spot, because "The Raw & the Cooked" still hadn`t cracked the Top 5 on the LP list.

Last week, when Richard Marx's "Satisfied" vaulted into the No. 1 position, it looked like just the kind of durable record that could hang on to the top spot for several weeks and end the recent string of one-week champs. So much for that. This week, "Satisfied" slipped all the way to No. 3, making way for yet another new leader: Milli Vanilli's "Baby Don`t Forget My Number," which moved all the way up from No. 4 to give the dance duo their second straight hit and first No. 1. (They just missed in April, when "Girl You Know It's True" peaked at No. 2.)

Thuy Tran, 6, had worn her favorite blue-and-pink jacket that January morning. When the bullet hit, it ripped through the coat in its deadly course to her heart, forever soaking the material with her blood. She was hit twice, one round ripping a 2 1/2-inch hole through her small hand, the other 7.62 mm. bullet tearing a jagged, gaping wound in her heart. She probably died within seconds, in part from shock and in part from a vast, unquenchable flow of blood. For Patrick Purdy, Thuy Tran's killer, the attack was an almost perfect military ambush, a smooth execution of some unexplained fantasy he had constructed playing with toy soldiers.

Cradle of Valor By Dale O. Smith, major general, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) Algonquin Books, 268 pages, $16.95 Food fights at West Point? Dale O. Smith remembers: "While making one of his noontime walks through the mess hall, the commandant, `Nellie` Richardson, noticed a glob of butter on the wall. "He stormed up to the poopdeck and had the battalions called to attention. " `Gentlemen,` he began, `I have just observed one of the most outrageous acts I have ever encountered.

It is a rare thing when a hush falls over George's. Generally the crowds at this restaurant-nightclub inflict upon the evening's featured performer a noisy menu of clattering silverware, clinking glasses and loud conversation: all the makings of musical indigestion. But Tuesday night, not a creature was stirring as Liz Story began her six-evening stay at George's, 230 W. Kinzie (644-2290). Some of that surely had to do with image: She the glamor girl-or to the less restrained, the Bruce Springsteen-of that au courant musical hybrid know as New Age. And, indeed, from her sweeping hairdo down, she is a handsomely commanding presence.

Centuries ago, Michelangelo "saw" figures trapped in huge marble blocks, which he "let out" by sculpting them. Chicago ice sculptor Frank Taus also sees figures in the 400- to 600-pound ice blocks he works with. On the next two Saturdays, Taus-with help from his son-will use power saws, chisels and hammers to let them emerge during an ice-sculpting demonstration in Des Plaines. Among the emerging figures (which take two hours to complete): a 6-foot, 300-pound Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; a 4-foot, 200-pound snowman; 3-foot toy soldiers; a 4-foot Santa; and a 1/2-foot Christmas tree.

Mementos from Dallas . . . Chicago restaurateur Joe Carlucci was just going to run inside to pick up some tickets, and so he left his rental car running outside the front entrance of Dallas` Loew's Anatole Hotel, where most coaches were staying over the Final Four weekend. But when he emerged moments later, it was gone. "Where's my car?" he yelled at a hotel employee. "That was yours?" "Yeah. Where is it?" "I thought it was (North Carolina) coach Dean Smith's. That's him driving away right now."

Q-We have several hundred World War II toy soldiers plus sandbags, trenches, etc. Some are Manoil examples; all are more than 40 years old and in fair to good condition. Where can I find serious collectors of such things? Charles Lutz, Marshall, Minn. A-Write to toy soldier collector, buyer and dealer Don Pielin, 1009 Kenilworth, Wheeling, Ill. 60090. Enclose photos or descriptions of the soldiers and an addressed, stamped envelope for a reply or offer. Also available from Pielin for $13 postpaid is his book, "American Dimestore Soldiers," which contains valuable information on Manoil, Barclay and other toy soldiers and their vehicles.

Q-Do you know of any organization of miniature soldier collectors, any newsletter or publication on miniature soldiers or any dealers who sell them? --J.A. Christensen, Salt Lake City. A-You can join an army of collectors and organizations as well as contact dealers by writing to the following sources: the Military Miniature Society of Illinois, Box 394, Skokie, Ill. 60077, $10 for a year's membership and newsletter, the Scabbard, published 11 times a year; the Military Figure Collectors of Oregon, c/o Lee Shortt, 10608 N.E. Tillamook, Portland, Ore. 97220, $15 a year including a quarterly newsletter; and the Atlanta Soldiers` Society, c/o Andy Davis, 3080 Sivapine Trail, Atlanta, Ga. 30345, $15 a year with a bimonthly newsletter.